Overview
- The Supreme Court on Sept. 14 left lower‑court injunctions in place, preventing the USPS rule that would have required unique barcodes on ballot envelopes and state uploads of voter lists from taking effect for the 2026 midterms.
- The contested rule would have forced states to redesign envelopes with scannable markings and to upload voter‑specific lists to a USPS portal, changes officials said required months of testing and new printing that could not be done on short notice.
- Postmaster General David Steiner confirmed the Postal Service has stopped work on the verification system and told employees it will not enforce the new rules for the 2026 federal election.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a limited concurrence saying implementation now would be unlawful for timing reasons but suggesting the rule might be lawful on the merits later, while Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented and President Trump publicly condemned the court.
- Voting rights groups and many state election officials welcomed the ruling as protecting established mail‑voting processes, but the underlying constitutional and administrative‑law disputes are likely to continue through further litigation and rulemaking.